Forget Me Not
by manhattanmeyers
Summary: RR! Girl runs away from new york, ends up in walton's mountain and falls in love with John-Boy Walton...i'm working on a sequel!


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Forget Me Not

In the summer of 1932, Manhattan Meyers was living in Brooklyn, New York, alone. Her parents had died in a fire that completely destroyed the house. She was then forced into an orphanage, which she ran away from three months later. She felt she wasn't wanted, so she packed up what little things she had, her guitar that her father had given her, her hat given to her by her grandfather before he had died of tuberculosis, a small knapsack of food, and her mother's bible. She didn't know where she was going to go, but she knew it had to be anywhere but Brooklyn, New York, she had to get away from the place that haunted her memories with that tragic night of the fire.

She decided that she would hop a train at the Brooklyn station late at night, and wherever that train took her, she would stay. She climbed aboard the train as quietly as possible and held her breath until the train moved and they had been done inspecting the train for stowaways. Luckily, she had been still enough to withstand the inspecting, and no one knew she was on the train. She started to doze off, when the train jerked to a stop a few hours after it had left Brooklyn. She bit her lip, she had no idea where she was, or if anyone would take her in. That's when she heard the conductor saying that they were in Walton's Mountain, Virginia.

Walton's Mountain, Virginia? She'd never heard of the place. She quietly waited until the conductor was gone before she slipped off of the train and stole into the night. She walked for a long while until day light broke and she found herself near a country store hidden back in the woods. Maybe I'll find someone here, she thought as she walked nearer, that's when the NRA sticker caught her eye and tears came flooding down her face as she remembered her father being a part of the NRA and was always inviting the guys over for coffee and cakes. She wiped the tears away, and turned back, but something in her heart and gut told her to stay for awhile.

She walked in and the bell on the door clanged. She looked around at the array of things scattered about, toys, coffees, dresses, hats, canned food and lots more. She brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and looked around some more.

"May I help you?" a voice asked behind her. She jumped as she spun around to apologize,

"I'm sorry"

"What are you sorry about?" the man was about her height, give or take a few inches, short black hair, a blue shirt, black pants and a white apron.

"I-I-I don't know, I'm just new here that's all" she stuttered toeing the ground nervously with the toe of her boot.

"Well, where do you come from?" he asked, "and my name is Ike Godsey by the way"

"I came from Brooklyn, New York, and my names Manhattan" she said up at him. He whistled, 

"Brooklyn, New York? that's along way from here, how'd you get here?" he asked with sympathy in his eyes. She chewed her bottom lip nervously, 

"I jumped a train in Brooklyn, and ended up here."

"Well, you ended up in the right place, I can tell you that right now. If you need a place to stay, I can call the Wal---" the door clanged open, and a young man walked in, he was tall, skinny, with short brown hair, and bluish green eyes. 

"Well, here's John-Boy Walton right here."

"Hey Ike, you got those pencils and that tablet for me?" 

"Yeah I do, they're right over here, oh, and by the way, this is Manhattan, she's from Brooklyn, New York." John-Boy looked at her,

"Hey, I guess you already know this but my name is John-Boy, do you have anyplace to stay?"

"No, I don't, I don't know anyone here."

"Hey Ike"

"Yeah John-Boy?"

"Could I take her to my house, get her some new clothes, she might be able to fit into some of Mary-Ellen's and see if she can stay with us for a little while?"

"Sure John-Boy, I was just about to ask you the same thing, here are those pencils and that tablet you wanted."

"Thanks Ike, Manhattan, come with me, I'll take you to my house, you can stay there a little while."

"Thank you" she said, "and thank you too Ike, it was nice meeting you."

"I hope you come back by soon"

"I will." and with that, John-Boy took her and led her out of the store.

"Sorry, all I have is Old Blue, my mule, but you wouldn't mind riding on the back would you?"

"No, I don't mind." he got up on the mule and helped her onto the back.

"Hold on, its going to be a bumpy ride." she put her arms around his waist and they began to trudge off into the distance. 

Pretty soon a big old farm house came into view, and John-Boy pulled the mule to a stop.

"Well, here it is, my humble abode, now mind you, I have 6 other siblings, 3 girls, Mary-Ellen, Erin, and Elizabeth who is the youngest, and 3 boys, Jason, Ben, and Jim-Bob. You'll meet all of them inside, come on, lets get inside so you can meet momma and daddy." he helped her down off of the mule and led her inside of the house. 

"Momma, Daddy, come here, I want you to meet some one." John-Boy yelled up the stairs as a middle aged woman with reddish orange hair, and a man with darker brown hair came down the stairs.

"John-Boy, whose this?" his mother asked.

"Momma, this is Manhattan, I found her at Ike's store, she's from Brooklyn, New York and she has no place to go. Do you think she could stay here?"

"Well, John-Boy, I think she might be able too, seeing as she has no place to go, she'll have to sleep in your room you know that."

"I know momma, I'll sleep in the boy's room"

"Ma'am," Manhattan said suddenly, "I'd do things around here to help out, like help cook, and clean and other things."

"No, your our guest, you don't have to do anything"

"Ma'am, I insist, I need to feel like I'm doing something for you, like you are doing something for me."

"alright, you can help the children with their chores."

"Thank you ma'am I'm obliged to help."

"John-Boy, help her up to your room and get her settled, suppers almost ready." 

"Yes momma, yes daddy." he picked up her stuff and lead her up the stairs.

"well, this is my room, it isn't much, but I will be up here to write in the evenings. If you don't mind I mean."

"No, I don't mind, I'm a writer too actually."

"Really?"

"yeah, but all I've written so far are some stories and few poems."

"Well, then maybe later you can review some of my stuff." she laughed,

"well, I'm hardly a reviewer, but alright, I will." she set her guitar case down on bed.

"you play guitar too?"

"yeah, my father taught me before he died."

"my brother Jason plays guitar also! Wait till he hears that there is another guitar player in the house."

"well," she laughed "I guess I have a lot of things in common with this family." she smiled shyly, and brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes. "I just feel like I fit in around here, the country side is beautiful and not filled with the polluted air of the city, its wonderful out here."

"what happened that made you come here?" seeing the tears fill her eyes, he said cautiously, "or can you tell?" she wiped a tear away from her eye and said,

"My parents and I were in the house one night and we were in bed when we smelled smoke, and apparently, our heater had caught fire, and was blazing out of control in the hallway. Mother and Father managed to get out, when I remembered my hat, my guitar, and my mother's bible. I ran back into my room to get them, when my father ran in after me, they held mother back. That's when I started to get scared as I grabbed the things I had came for, and ran back out of the house to see that daddy wasn't there. By then the firefighters had come, and I went to run back in, but they held me back as they battled the blaze, that's when it hit me, my father is dead, mother died of heartbreak and grief. John-Boy, I killed my parents, it's my fault they're dead! If I had never ran into the house to get those things, my father and mother would be alive." she sat down on the bed and started to sob, John-Boy sat beside her.

"Manhattan, its not your fault that they died, it was just some freak accident. Sure it could've been avoided, but it happened and I don't know why, only God knows why."

"But why would God take my parents?" 

"I don't know, God works in mysterious ways. Some things happen that are meant to be, but down here on earth, we don't understand why those things happen. Now, come on down stairs and lets see if dinners ready alright?"

"alright" she brushed a tear out of her eye and smiled weakly. John-Boy brushed a piece of hair away from her face and smiled.

"I can't make you forget your past, and you probably never will, but right now, focus on the future, what lies ahead of you, let God do the rest."

"Thanks John-Boy, I appreciate you listening to me."

"Your welcome, now lets go down stairs, I'm hungry." she laughed and hit him on the shoulder teasingly, 

"Alright, if we must," she put her stuff together on the bed and followed John-Boy down the stairs. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, all the people at the table turned to face them. She became nervous and turned bright red as John-Boy lead her to the table.

"Well, John-Boy, aren't you going to introduce us to your friend here?" a small blonde haired boy asked. Giggles scattered the table.

"Alright Jim-Bob, I will. Manhattan this is Jim-Bob, Ben, Jason, Mary-Ellen, Erin, Elizabeth, grandma, and grandpa."

"Hi," she said looking around the table and smiling nervously.

"Manhattan is it?" Grandma asked, "What are your beliefs?"

"Well, ma'am, I believe that there is a God that we can't see helping us people down on earth, and I also believe that he loves each and everyone of us, and he created us for a reason."

"You were brought up in a solid Christian home?" 

"yes ma'am I was, my mother and father were known all over Brooklyn for being two of the most God-fearing people in the city."

"Now, Ester, don't pester the girl with so many questions and eat." grandpa said,

"I only asked her two!" she exclaimed back.

"its alright, I don't mind answering the questions, its perfectly alright."

"Hey, Jason." John-Boy said

"Yeah, John-Boy." 

"Manhattan plays guitar too, did you know that?" Jason's coughed as he choked on his food,

"You play guitar?"

"Yes, I do. I learned from my father"

"are you any good?"

"yeah, I think I am anyway." she laughed.

"After supper do you want to play some songs with me? I mean, if you want too."

"sure, Jason, I will, but maybe when I'm settled in, alright?"

"Great!" a few nights later when everyone was listening to the radio, Jason asked,

"So Manhattan, you ready to play, I mean, if its not too much trouble."

"Yeah, I guess I am, I'll go get my guitar" she got up to get it when John-Boy said,

"I'll go with you." every one looked at each other and kind of grinned, they had seen that John-Boy had started to develop feelings for her. She looked at him and smiled as they walked up the stairs to get her guitar. When they got to the room she said,

"You didn't have to come with me." he looked at her with a sort of shy smile on his face as he replied back,

"I just wanted to be in your company, your not like other girls, your free spirited, gentle and kind, and that's what I look for in a girl." she looked at him shocked,

"what are you trying to say John-Boy?"

"Well, what I think I'm trying to say is that…. I like you, a lot." John-Boy looked at the ground and blushed.

"I-I-I like you too." she said resting her hand on his cheek. He looked up,

"you do?" 

"Yeah! wasn't it kind of obvious?"

"No, I guess I don't know how to tell if a girl likes me or not." he replied.

"well, I like you a lot." she leaned in and kissed him, the kiss was short as they both pulled back shocked.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean t-"

"didn't mean to what?" he replied and kissed her again, this time it was warm and tender. John-Boy pulled away and said,

"well, I guess we'd better get down stairs, they'll be wondering where we are." he ran a hand down her cheek and they went back down stairs.

That next morning, she woke up to someone knocking on her door. 

"Hey, Matt, it's time for breakfast." it was John-Boy

"Alright! I'm up, I'll be down in a minute!"

"Alright," he left and she started to dress. _What a nice family, she thought as she pulled on her clothes, John-Boy, his eyes so full of laughter and joy, and a writer too! Jason, a music lover like me, Jim-Bob, lover of planes and the sky, Elizabeth, sweet little Elizabeth, with her gentle, kind spirit, Mary Ellen, tomboyish Mary Ellen, set in her ways, Erin, kind, and a little like Mary-Ellen. Ben, just like his father, ambitious, and carefree. _She smiled as she went to the door, and went downstairs. Everyone was already at the table.

"Sorry I'm so late guys." she said blushing

"hey, that's alright." said John-Boy, "but, you'd better sit down and eat, the foods getting cold." she sat down and began a lively conversation with the family. Later that day, she and John-Boy were cleaning out the barn when suddenly he asked,

"Matt, what're your favorite flowers?" she looked up shocked, nearly dropping what she was doing,

"Forget-Me-Not's, why?"

"Oh, I dunno" he smiled shyly at her and they continued working. That night, after supper, Manhattan went up to her room to turn in for the night, when she entered the room she was surprised to find a bunch of Forget-Me-Not's on her pillow, she walked over to the bed, picked them up, and put them to her nose, breathing in the wonderful smell. _John-Boy, you sure are something _she thought in amazement. She set the flowers on the bed stand and lay down, staring at them. She fell into a restless sleep plagued by the nightmare of that tragic night in New York.

_she was asleep, smoke was slowly curling throughout the hallway, she awoke with a start, coughing as she began to smell the smoke. _

"Mother! Father!" she crawled out into the hallway. She coughed, "Mother! The house is burning!" she coughed again. Mother and Father crawled out of their room as the hallway filled with more smoke, 

"We have to get out now!" her father's powerful voice said. They reached the front door when she turned back,

"Matt! No!" her mother, yelled going out the front door. She didn't listen, she had to get her stuff, her father, followed her, but got lost in the flames. She turned after getting her stuff to go back to the front door, she got out, to find her mother standing there crying,

"Mother, didn't father get out?" she said with uncertainty in her voice.

"Sweetheart, he went in after you, and never came back out." her eyes filled with tears as she hugged her mother, later in the hospital, her mother died, probably of heartbreak and grief, but mostly smoke inhalation. Matt stood there shocked as her mother was taken away, willing her self not to cry, but slowly, a river of tears flowed down her face. She could be comforted by no one, she ran out into the night, to the train station.

"NO!, Mother! Father!" she cried out, "Mother!, Father!" she awoke to John-Boy and the rest of the family standing over her. John-Boy was holding her in his arms.

"Shh, it'll be ok Matt, really it will." she broke down in tears and buried her face into John-Boy's neck. He ran his hand through her hair, holding her. 

"John-Boy, is she going to be ok?" Olivia asked with uncertainty in his voice.

"Yeah, momma, I think she will, I'll talk to her after she's done crying." 

"Alright John-Boy, come on kids, lets go to bed." Olivia said.

"But momma, is she going to be alright?" Elizabeth asked.

"I hope so, we'll see in the morning, bed, now!" the children and Olivia and John left the room leaving her and John-Boy alone.

"Matt are you going to be ok?" John-Boy asked, she looked up tears streaming down her face as she said.

"It was so real John-Boy, it was so real." she kept repeating "It was so real" over and over again until she fell asleep. John-Boy put her down on the bed, and covered her up. Standing over her he whispered,

"It'll be ok, it'll be ok." he left the room, where Olivia was standing by the door.

"John-Boy, is she going to be ok?"

"Yeah, I think so, momma, I feel so bad for her, she's lost everything, and she has no one except us."

"I know John-Boy, and she deserves to have a good friend like you." she ruffled his hair and walked into her room. "Goodnight John-Boy"

"'Night Momma" the next morning, Manhattan awoke to the birds singing, and the sun was shining.

_"What a night."_ She said to herself, _"Why did I dream that?"_ she shook her head and walked into the hallway where she found John-Boy asleep by the door.

"John-Boy, did you sleep there all night?" he awoke, and stretched,

"Yeah, I guess I did." 

"Why?"

"I just wanted to be here if anything happened again." he stood up.

"Well, thank you, oh, and thanks for the flowers." He grinned at her and they went downstairs. Later that day, she and John-Boy were in the barn talking when out of the corner of her eye, she say a man in a black suit coming up to the house.

"John-Boy," she said, "You have to hide me."

"But why?"

"Shh, I'll explain later" she took his hand and went up to the tree house. The man reached the front door, and knocked, John came to the door,

"Yes?"

"Sir, my name is Thomas Hartford, and I run an orphanage in New York and we're looking for a 16 year old girl, Manhattan Meyers, have you seen her?" John-Boy and Manhattan were still hidden in the tree house.

"Can you please explain what's going on?"

"John-Boy, after my parents died, I was sent to an orphanage, and I didn't like it there, so one night I ran away, the owner is a real tightwad, he treated us kids with disrespect, and barely fed us. I had to leave, John-Boy, I just had to." back at the door, John said,

"Yeah, I think she's around here somewhere, she's probably with my son, John-Boy, John-Boy, where are you?"

"But why didn't you just tell me this before?"

"I don't know," she said, tears streamed down her face, "I just don't know"

"John-Boy?!" John-Boy looked up,

"Yes daddy?"

"Is Manhattan with you?" John-Boy looked at her,

"You have to go, he won't stop looking for you if you don't. Yes daddy, she's here with me."

"Well bring her down, someone's here to see her." John-Boy took her hand and led her to the front porch, tears ran down her face as she approached Thomas.

"Manhattan, may I have a word with you?" Thomas said, with a look of pure hate in his eyes. She sobbed as he took her aside.

"Daddy, I feel so bad for her, that man was a real jerk to her in the orphanage, can't we do something about it?"

"We'll have to see what happens John-Boy, just wait."

"After all we've done for you and you run away, how could you?" he smacked her and sent her sprawling to the ground, an angry red welt rose from her tear stained face as she regained her balance. Angrily she said,

"After all you've done for me? You barely clothed, let alone fed me, so how could I not?" another blow sent her to the ground. To angry and hurt to get back up, she put her head in her arms and started to cry.

"Get up," he snarled, "Your coming back to New York with me now." slowly, she got up, her tears flowing like a river and said,

"Let me say goodbye to John-Boy" she sniffled weakly.

"Fine, but make it quick." she walked back over to John-Boy, took his hand and took him aside,

"John-Boy, for the past two weeks I haven't been able to tell you this, but, well, I love you" John-Boy looked at her, tears were running down his face as well.

"Manhattan, when I first met you, in Ike's store, you struck me as a proud, defiant person, but when you started talking, you were this shy, calm girl who just needed to open herself up to someone, and talk about what happened the night of the fire and I'm glad you chose me."

"I'm glad I chose you too." they hugged and after a brief kiss, Manhattan squeezed his hand and whispered in his ear,

"Forget me not, John-Boy, forget me not."

"I won't." he said, she let go of his hand and ran hers down his cheek.

"Goodbye." she walked over to the car where Thomas had already gotten her stuff packed, climbed in and as they pulled away, waved goodbye again to John and John-Boy. As they watched her go, John turned to his son,

"John-Boy, are you going to be ok son?"

"Ya, I think so" he smiled weakly at his dad, went inside and up to his room. He went and sat on the bed, when something caught his eye. There, lying on the night stand was a single forget me not.


End file.
